Blocking Offensive Websites

As Kate Klonick acknowledges, the infrastructure of the internet is maintained by a group of private companies; it’s not a regulated public utility. These companies have the right to determine what speech is acceptable on their private platforms, just as this newspaper has the right to publish or not publish an Op-Ed article or a letter to the editor.

Not publishing these is not censorship; it’s an editorial decision. And just as newspapers have the right to refuse advertising, internet hosting services have the right to deny access to political candidates (or anybody else) they don’t like.

In many European countries it’s a crime to deny the Holocaust or display Nazi symbols. These countries have the courage to make moral and ethical choices about how they want their society to function.

I’m glad there are those who make decisions regarding internet content, even if I don’t like those decisions. Let the Stormers and the like find some other outlet to spew their venom and hate.